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Evaluation as/of Learning
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| Presenter(s):
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| Janice Fournillier,
Georgia State University,
jfournillier@gsu.edu
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| Cecile Cachaper,
Independent Consultant,
cecile.dietrich@verizon.net
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| Abstract:
The goal of this paper is to reconstruct the nature of evaluation practice. We posit that in order to do rigorous evaluation of learning programs one must conceptualize evaluation as learning. Using the concept of transaction (Dewey, 1991; Garrison, 2001), and inter-subjectivity (Mead, 1938) we argue that evaluation is a natural outgrowth of quality educational practice. Furthermore, we reconstruct the roles of the stakeholders and evaluators as co-learners within the inter-subjective experience of evaluation. As such, we surmise that one standard used in evaluation should emphasize the mutuality of the learning that takes place within the evaluation process itself. Mutuality of learning should be assessed by the utility of the evaluation (Joint Committee Standards for Educational Evaluation, 1994) and the extent to which the evaluation methodology remained flexible and emergent throughout the evaluation. Using these criteria, we discuss an example of evaluator-stakeholder relationships within a meta-evaluation of a NCLB program.
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Evaluator as Learner: Rethinking Roles and Relationships
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| Presenter(s):
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| Tysza Gandha,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
tgandha2@uiuc.edu
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| Abstract:
This paper explores the nature of the connection between evaluation and learning, particularly as manifested in theories of evaluator roles and relationships. Evaluation activities are often understood as pedagogical with evaluators cast as educators (Cronbach and Associates, 1980; Patton, 1997; Weiss, 1999). This paper extends our rethinking of evaluator as both teacher and learner. Drawing from the practical hermeneutics tradition (Schwandt, 2002) and the action research literature, I envision evaluators as learning partners in communities of inquiry (Cochran-Smith and Lytle, 1999; Noffke, 1997; Anderson, Herr and Nihlen, 2007). I argue that without genuine relationships characterized by mutual openness and communication, evaluation's potential for contributing to learning and to social betterment is undermined. Understanding evaluators as learners is one critical response to the increasing co-option of evaluation by management and government in the current era of accountability and performance measurement (Ryan, 2007; Schwandt, 2007).
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How Can Our Society Learn Through Contextualized Evaluation? A Renewed Appreciation of Generalization in Evaluation
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| Presenter(s):
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| Wonsuk Lee,
University of Illinois, Urbana,
wlee17@uiuc.edu
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| Abstract:
The importance of context in evaluation has been regarded as a sort of consensus in the field of evaluation. However, this consensus has inevitably led to a new controversy about external validity, that is, generalization. The core of the controversy is whether generalization is possible in context-based evaluations or not, and if possible, how evaluators can pursue it. This paper deals with the argument that seems to be contradictory. For this, the relationship between the consideration of context and generalization, a new interpretation of generalization and the importance of generalization in contextualized evaluation are discussed. Also a way of pursuing generalization is introduced based on Cronbach's ideas on evaluation. Finally, an evaluation practice on Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP) is investigated from the view point of the way of pursuing generalization.
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Standards-based, Competency-based and Appreciative Inquiry: Using Program Theory for Assessing Program Quality and Promoting Organizational Learning
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| Presenter(s):
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| Edith J Cisneros-Cohernour,
Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan,
cchacon@uady.mx
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| Thomas E Grayson,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
tgrayson@uiuc.edu
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| Abstract:
This paper presents the strengths and limitations of three theoretical approaches for determining the benefits and contributions of the program Escuelas de Calidad (Schools for Quality), particularly the quality of school based management and its relationship with student learning in special education schools in the southeast of Mexico. The paper examines how Standards-base, Competency based and Appreciative Inquiry approaches were used for examining the quality of the program. In addition, the paper analyzes the implications for program improvement, and organizational learning. The authors also examine how the decision of choosing a theoretical framework could increase our understanding of the program, its quality and raise issues of equity and fairness.
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